Five people linked to the urban guerrilla group Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire and a string of armed robberies remain in custody this week following their arrest on Tuesday at a cafe in the northern Athenian suburb of Nea Philadelphia in a long-planned raid by anti-terrorist officers.
Two of the suspects – Anargyros Dalios, 22, and 23-year-old Foivos Harisis-Poulos – were remanded in custody after refusing to defend themselves against charges of membership of a criminal organization and participation in a bank robbery last November in Florina, northern Greece. Police had issued arrest warrants in February for the pair, whose DNA has been found in several hideouts that have been linked to Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire.
Officers also detained another three unnamed suspects – aged 30, 31 and 40 – after forensic tests linked the two youngest to a series of bank robberies including the Florina heist. The latter two suspects have been detained on charges of harboring a criminal and resisting arrest but are expected to face terrorism charges too, sources said. The 40-year-old suspect is a known anarchist whom police connected to the guerrilla group in 2011.
An official at the Public Order Ministry told Kathimerini that the police have not ruled out links between the five suspects and recent bombings in Athens.
Source: Kathimerini.